Candidate Questionnaire Sports Question

[USService11]

Hello.

For West Point's candidate questionnaire, in the sports section, I had a bit of trouble filling it out.

My school does not offer sports but I have been a competitive gymnast for at least 10 years now. Should I list this sport as Gymnastics (Womens) or Non-School League? Again this sport was not with my school but with a local club.
Also should I check the special recognition box for having won medals in competition (though most everyone does) but then in the explanation but that I have won all around gold medals? Would that mean I could put special recognition for 3 years? (The amount of years I have won gold). I have also been selected as the MVP of my team in the past so could that qualify as special recognition for one year as well?

 

[Falcon A]

Dear USService11 -- My DD is a high school sophomore and is also a Level 10 competitive gymnast with a club. (For those not familiar, competitive gymnastics via a club seems to be the usual path for being recruited instead through high school teams.) You definitely need to get credit for all the work you have put into your sport. Others will be more familiar than I with the USMA admissions process, but I would recommend you send an email to your admissions regional commander with your gymnastics resume and ask for his/her advice on how best to enter your information. Be sure to include in your resume your current USG level; your MVP selection; your meet history and placements during high school years; whether you've been to state, regional and or nationals, and if you have placed at those events. I would also include in your resume how many hours each week you practice.

My guess is the admissions people will be trying to assess or compare your "gymnastics level" to the high school "varsity" level. The higher your level, the better. To get credit for Team Captain would probably need to be an explicit appointment by your coach. As you know, placing at States, Regionals or Nationals is a big deal vs winning or placing at a local meet. The local meet awards, while showing a great trend, may not count for a an "All-Conference, All-State, or All-American" award like is given in certain high school varsity sports.

You might also look at USAFA -- they have a NCAA women's gymnastic team and seem to recruit from both Level 9 and Level 10. It appears both USMA and USNA have NCAA men's gymnastics teams but no women's team